News & Commentary

The ACLU argues troopers target motorists with out-of-state license plates or those traveling to or from Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal, despite prior court rulings that aimed to restrict how troopers factor a vehicle’s origin or destination into their reasonable suspicion.

The ACLU of Kansas has been fighting the “two step” in court for more than three years. The trial against Jones, who will step down July 1, is the third in recent weeks centered on how troopers conduct themselves during roadside stops. Federal juries this year have twice found that individual Kansas troopers violated constitutional rights during stops.

The ACLU of Kansas says that on Monday, May 1, the final phase of a challenge to the Kansas Highway Patrol’s “Two-Step” and practice of unlawful detainment of drivers without reasonable suspicion will begin in court.

Kansas lawmakers on Thursday passed what critics call one of the most sweeping anti-trans bathroom bills in the nation, overriding Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto as conservative state lawmakers are increasingly embracing culture war policies.

“The Kansas bill would certainly be among the most restrictive ones that we’ve seen in the country — one of the most expansive, one of the most extreme and really just one of the most mean spirited and hurtful,” ACLU of Kansas Executive Director Micah Kubic said before the House vote. “School districts are probably one of the very first places where this bill and all of the other ones like it will show up.”

“What it’s about is politicians getting in the way of parents, children and their medical providers,” said D.C. Hiegert, a legal fellow with the ACLU of Kansas, in an interview with Kansas Capitol Bureau.

“The lack of clarity is by design because it allows them to disclaim the worst possible interpretation while also allowing for the worst possible outcome to happen,” said Micah Kubic, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, which opposed the law.

"As the city continues to work to assess and improve its police department’s relationship with the community, we are hopeful we can reach a resolution in this case that adequately remedies the impacts on those affected and prevents further rights violations, without added expense."

The city has spent more than $267,000 in legal fees since being sued over the gang list in April 2021 by the ACLU of Kansas and Kansas Appleseed. The organizations say police use the list to target Black and Latino residents who are identified as gang members with little or no evidence.